Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Generation Gap

Recently my good friend Wade came to live with me. I hadn't planned on having any roommates, mostly because I'm still in Rebecca-recovery, WHICH DOES NOT NECESSARILY CARRY NEGATIVE IMPLICATIONS ABOUT REBECCA. But Wade is in transition and trying to find a place to live closer to work and school so he doesn't have to commute from the south end of the valley anymore.

I, temporarily,offered him the bedroom in my basement. Ten seconds later he was marking his height on a wall in the kitchen and writing "Wade, 2015" next to it.

I have to say that so far he is proving to rival the greatest roommates of all time. It's like having Rebecca live with me again but without wondering every day if I'm going to come home to find a giraffe taking a nap in the kitchen or rice pouring all over the floor or an explosion of bread because someone got confused and thought the recipe called for one cup of yeast.

Oh my gosh. You guys. I think I Love Lucy might have been based on Rebecca's life.

Wade is good people. And I love having him live in my house. Since he's in the basement and I'm upstairs, I've been trying to turn this into a Downton Abbey thing. I've even installed a morning bell that I ring whenever I wake up.

So far he hasn't really gone for this, nor has he succumbed to my demands that he start speaking in a British accent.

Stubborn. This is so Barrow of him.

Actually I want him to be a combination of Anna, Mrs. Hughes, and Carson. I'm Edith, obviously. Hashtag Eli's dating life.

Wade is 22 years old which means he was born in--wait for it--1993.

You guys. Let me give you some perspective here. This was the year that Jurassic Park came out. Let that sink in for a minute.

Someone who was born when Jurassic Park came out is living in my house.

When I hang out with Wade I usually sort of forget that we weren't born in the same year. He's mature for his age and I'm immature for my age so we settle in right at about 25 together. Then all of the sudden something will come up that reminds me that we did not grow up on the same planet and as it turns out an eight-year age gap is actually pretty dramatic at this phase of life.

Eli: How can you not know about these things!? TGIF was like a father to me! Everyone between the ages of 6 and 16 purposefully didn't make plans on Friday night just so we wouldn't miss it!

Wade: Why didn't you just watch it on Hulu later?

Eli: Wade! That wasn't even close to existing at that time!

Wade: Hulu wasn't around yet?

Eli: The Internet wasn't around yet. THE ENTIRE INTERNET. We didn't even know that word back then.

Wade: So you couldn't even watch netflix?

Eli:Back in my day, if you wanted to be entertained by a program, you made sure you were home when it aired. And you did not get up and leave during commercial breaks because someone might consider that a tv forfeiture and change the channel and it is really hard to win an appeal on that if you left the room.

Wade: And there was no way to just program your tv to record it?

Eli: Well, we could record it onto VHS. But such things were only reserved for the most important programming. VHS tapes were limited in supply, yet high in demand and you had to be pretty darn sure that something was going to be better that whatever you were about to record over.

Wade: VHS? Is that the one you had to blow into to get it to work?

Eli: Oh my gosh! Do today's children not even know what a regular Nintendo is anymore?!

If some of the comments to this post don't start with "back in my day," the Stranger community has failed.

Not even kidding, I was born in '96 as well and I was very confused. I mean, sure, my family was poor and we couldn't afford the new technology, but... yikes! I PLAYED MY N64 YESTERDAY (I inherited it, actually. Which is crazy, because the thing is as old as "Wade" is).

Agreed! I'm 19, and I remember everything that Eli mentioned... But I also grew up with 4 older siblings who were all 8-14 years older than me, so I always felt like I actually grew up in the early 90s. Full House, Boy Meets World, and Sabrina were my favorite shows growing up! (And to this day)

Yeah I'm almost 24 (one month baby!) and I know all of those shows and VHS and I remember when my family first got the Internet. My brother who is 21 remembers all this as well. Although I haven't ever seen Jurassic park; but I've also never watched lord of the rings or Star Wars. Anyway I vote yes to bringing back tgif and no to bring back vhs or life pre-Internet.

I'm with Lee on this one. I thought it was a travesty when a guy I was dating in 1999 (and who was 8 years older than me) had never seen Star Wars when I asked if he wanted to see Episode 1 when it came out. What bugged me even more is that he refused to watch 4,5,&6 before he watched 1,2,&3. I broke up with him shortly after that, coincidence? I'll let you be the judge.

I'm 23, I remeber all those things and I've never seen star wars or lord of the rings or harry potter. And I'm doing great in life. Before I met my husband I went on lots of dates with guys that would find this out and never ask me out again. It was absolutely ridiculous. stay strong kelsi. I'm staying strong too.

But did Wade take out the trash??? I tried to time this with when you said you wanted such reminders (that is, late on a Tuesday night) but I think I might be a little late....you know, reminding you about trash day would be a lot easier if you would just share your phone number with us so that we could message you directly....

I had a moment like that when I was riding in the car with my husband, my husband's younger brother, and the brother's best friend. "Gettin' Jiggy with It" came on the iPod, and my husband and I were busting it out as best we could. After, I turned around and asked the younger men why they hadn't joined in. They said they didn't know it and thought it came out when they were in elementary school. I felt so old and sad for them. They probably didn't know the words to "Men in Black" either.

Back in my day, the best computer game was about helping a frog cross the street, and the computer screen was black and white.

Back in my day your music was on 8 tracks and we didn't even have popcorn that was made in a microwave. We had jiffy pop. Internet was 25 years away. I was one of the first people in my neighborhood to have cable. MTV actually played music videos. ESPN aired any sport they could get a hold of includiing World's Strong man competition.

Back in my day we sat next to the TV and recorded the audio of our favorite shows (like Growing Pains) on cassette tape to listen to later. I still know a few by heart. But then my brother would start talking and ruin the whole thing.

Hahaha this was TOTALLY how we got the the soundtracks to movies until CDs came out!!! Oh the fights we would have over any background noise!!! I also remember using the same boom box to record my own "radio shows" for hours on end by myself in my room. I would have "guests" on the show and do their voices myself and "interview" them so I was basically just talking to myself. I was definitely a weird kid too 😜

This was SO me!!! In middle school I would record episodes of 'Jem and the Holograms' (which aired at like 7:30 in the morning) and then rush home to watch them after school. I had (still have, somewhere) an entire cassette tape of 1-2 minute songs from the band that I painstakingly collected, huddled up to the TV speaker with my bulky portable cassette tape player. Good times.

Back in my day, I watched the handful of Disney princess VHS tapes on what felt like repeat for my entire childhood. I remember when we got internet my dad and I were so excited and talked about all the cool games we were going to play. We ended up downloading a sesame street game which took 2 days to download and was in black and white. Bummer!

Back in my day, you'd be laying on the floor watching tv and the reception would go wonky. So your dad tells you to get up and adjust the antenna. You do that and the tv comes back in and you let go. And the tv goes out again. So you end up standing there holding the antenna for the entire program, unable to see the tv screen at all, while your dad enjoyed his program.

1 tv in the house, 4 channels on that tv, and you holding the antenna and not seeing a blasted thing.

This happens to my husband and me all the time. He's 7 years older than me and he'll say things like "I remember being on my mission when 9/11 happened" and I'm like "yeah! My mom was dropping me off at the junior high so I could go to 7th grade". Then we get freaked out and don't talk for the day. Age differences can be a awkward when they come up.

I went on a date with a guy....wait, man, who looked much younger than his age. I asked what year he graduated HS. When he said 1980 I said, "in 1980 I was still sperm and eggs"..... And five minutes after that "something suddenly came up"

Back in my day VHS didn't even exist!! I was in my tweens when VHS machines could be rented at the video store!! Jasmine, I totally get where you are coming from. My husband and I are eight years apart in age. We both have had previous marriages and kids. He recently adopted my three kids and can now say his oldest child was born while he was in the MTC. He likes to joke that he married a cougar. Then I pipe in that I bleed blue....... It confuses some people, other people get it and laugh.

My husband graduated HS when I was 2. That generation gap thing happens all the time. When he was going through the Suez Canal to Desert Storm, I was 8. When I was in middle school watching Boy Meets World, he was working on his masters after 6 years in the Navy. But he's really immature so it works. ;)

Back in the day, televisions were the size of city blocks even though the screens were five inches across diagonally, and if you were lucky you got THREE stations in black and white. Also, if you were unlucky you were the one who had to hold the 'rabbit ears' just so during Uncle Milton's funnier sketches so Grandpa and Grandma could laugh till they snorted or peed themselves, whichever came first.

I work in IT and my coworker is 22 years younger then me. Of course we're all nerds in IT, and I'd always ask him "hey do you remember that episode of Star Trek the next generation (which came out beginning in 91)" and he's like, "yeah I've never seen that show". What nerd hasn't gone back and watched Star Trek! Kids...pssshhh. Or when we talk to the younger folk about the BEST TV EVER...like Different Strokes, Family Ties, Facts of Life, Welcome Back Kotter, Three's Company, Mork and Mindy, Happy Days, Laverne And Shirley, etc... and people just look at us like we're talking Russian to them.

My kids are 9 and 7 and have seen the original Star Wars trilogy a few times already, and they LOVE Happy Days (especially the Fonz. My 9 year old wants a leather jacket so he can be just like him) and Laverne and Shirley. I'm going to let them watch Mork and Mindy next.

Just to date myself even more, I remember watching Wrestling when I was young and it had some character (don't watch anymore), and they had the likes of Mad Dog Vachon, Baron "The Claw" Von Rashke, Andre The Giant, Puppy Dog Peloquin, etc... for those who remember those guys.

Oh the good ol days when kids would go out and be able to ride many blocks away from their house without parents having to worry about them being stolen by someone.

I remember Jake the Snake. I skipped a lot of them. The Sheik, The Honky Tonk Man, King Kong Bundy, Randy Savage, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Tito Santana, Rick Martel, Jesse "the body" Ventura, Hulk Hogan, and the man of wrestling himself, Ric Flair. And let's not forget, one of the most famous managers, Bobby the weasel Heenan. And of course the man who was there through it all...."Mean" Gene Okerlund!

Man...this is taking me way back when my older brother (11 years older) and I would watch...and then he would start to put me in wrestling holds while watching. That was always fun...hahahaha...eh...

Now I feel old because I read the TGIF listing that Eli posted and I remembered the original TGIF lineup of Full House, Perfect Strangers, Mr. Belvedere, and Just The 10 of Us. I still remember the short lived show Dinosaurs and frequently drop "NOT the mama" into conversations...only to be stared at like I come from another planet.

YES! Oh my gosh! Just the other day I was thinking about the episode of Dinosaurs when they are arrested for saying the world is round so to prove their case they walk all the way around the world. That was tv at its finest. AT. ITS. FINEST.

Awww the interwebz of the 90's, the pre-cat video era. Remember when html blew everyone's mind? I've had the same yahoo email account since 1997, I do have a gmail account but I just forward it to the yahoo account so I don't have to give it up.

There, there anonymous, I turn 36 in June and in the eyes of my nieces and nephews born in the 90's I'm almost dead. The other day my 21 year old niece told me that it was now OK for me to use Tinder (she had previously told me I wasn't allowed to use it) because "now it's just full of creepy old people who are like in their late 20s or early 30s" and apparently anyone who's anyone is on Instagram and Vine. It's like the shift from myspace to facebook all over again.

I am 41, and I embarras my teen girls by following them on the Instagrams and the Pinterest. What really makes you feel old is when you realize you can count how long you've been driving or out of high school by DECADES.

I'm working at a restaurant while I'm in grad school, and most of my co-workers are in their late teens/early 20s. I didn't think I was so different until I realized many of them don't even REMEMBER 9/11... because they were in kindergarten. On the other hand, I love spoiling my husband's college stories by reminding him that I was in middle school back then. :)

I was running a public speaking competition for middle and high schoolers, and the speech topic was on the War on Terror. I was talking to a seventh grader, and I asked if they remembered 9/11, if they were scared, etc. When I got a blank stare, I remembered that this kid wasn't even alive in 2001, which was crazy for me to think about.

Also, the same group of kids, when asked to guess my age, guessed that I was 30. I'm 22.

Hi....this is a message for Wade. I'm also 22 (well, almost). And most of the time, I fit in rather well with my "25 and older" friends. But then there are times that I'm completely shunned for not knowing Boy Meets World and the like. The struggle is real, my friend. If you ever need to get away from all of that...you just let me know. ;)

Back in my day when I liked a song, I waited for it to play on the radio, and held my cassette tape player next to the radio and recorded it. If I was really lucky the DJ wouldn't talk over the beginning or end of it.

Back in the day, if you wanted to change the channel on your t.v., you had to get off the couch, walk across the room, and turn it yourself. And if the knob broke off, you got to use a pair of pliers. Also? Cartoons only aired on Saturday mornings, so you had to wait a WHOLE WEEK to enjoy your childhood. Hashtag: I'm a survivor.

Yes! Born in 1985 here. Back in my day, our tv didn't have a remote or even buttons on the console...it had a KNOB that you had to turn! That tv lasted for well over 30 years. hashtag they don't make 'em like they used to.

Back in my day.....I watched The Apple Dumpling Gang on BETA tapes........and I had to get up to change the channel on the television......Sony Walkmen were amazing inventions.......my first computer (in the 6th grade) was a Commodore 64 and our first video game was Pong - we got it brand new!

OMG NICOLE! BETA TAPES!!! My parents went for Beta tapes as well. It was VHS or Beta...my parents chose the wrong thing and we could never rent any good movies or borrow anyone else's because they were all VHS!

Back in my day I very carefully fast forwarded to the end of my not-yet-born sister's state of the art sonogram video recorded on VHS so I could record Zack and Kelly's epic Vegas nuptials. I think we all know which portion of that tape was watched more...

I think every household in America recorded Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Vegas on VHS. I think I still remember where all of the commercial breaks were. Remember when you had to stand by through the whole program to try to hurry and stop the recording at the exact right moment when it cut to commercial?

Back in my day, the best days at school were the days you got to play Oregon Trail on a first version Mac, you spent your evenings recording songs from the radio on cassette tapes, to make various mix tapes!! And when you wanted to watch a movie and the previous watcher did not rewind it you got really annoyed until your parents purchased the best gadget ever the VHS rewinder!!

Oh those mix tapes were a nightmare! You'd call and request your favorite songs, wait all night to get them played and then only end up recording half the song because you weren't ready when it started. Or you'd have people talking during the song on the recording.

Back in my day, we watched Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? In fact, just yesterday I posted it to my brother's timeline for old times' sake. We also loved Ghostwriter. I guess we were PBS nerds.

I thought Today's Special was a part of another show? I'm losing it, but I do remember that show. And let's not forget...

MR. ROGERS NEIGHBORHOOD on PBS!!! At least it was on PBS up here in Canada. And also, the Electric Company! That show was awesome just based on the fact that they had a guy dress up as Spiderman on the show from time to time.

And did you guys in the U.S. get Mr. Dressup? If not you missed out. U.S. guy named Ernie Coombs who was friends with Fred Rogers, and when Rogers heard about an opening for a children's show, told them they should hire this guy Coombs. The man was loved all over Canada and when he passed I don't think there was one of us who didn't mourn for him. He was a fantastic person, very much like Rogers, but a bit more outgoing.

A few weeks ago as I was leaving the house I told my 15 year old son, "No wild parties or long distance phone calls!" He looked at me and said, "What's a long distance phone call?" My jaw dropped and I told him how the phone company would charge more money the further away you called. He just looked at me strange and said, "Why?" Why, indeed.

Back in my day, I really liked a picture that hung on the wall of the Step-by-Step set so I mailed a letter to the show asking about it. One day, I was home alone and the phone rang. IT WAS THE PROP MASTER FROM STEP-BY-STEP!! He was calling me to let me know the artist and title of the picture! I was star-struck and there was no one else home to witness it.(Also? I have an autographed postcard from Tom Hanks back when he was on Bosom Buddies.)

Back in my day.. I think I was 8 before we had a tv.. several years later before we had a vcr...There was a 1 screen movie theater... we finally got an atari... and omg... cartoons could only be watched Saturday morning!

Back in my day, I was ADDICTED to a show called "Out of This World" about a girl named Evie who was half-human/half-alien and had special powers. VERY few people ever seem to remember it when I bring it up so I'm hoping to find some friends in solidarity on here. It was a FANTASTIC show that deserves to be remembered.

Also, in kind of the same genre but several years later, "The Secret World of Alex Mack". I was completely and utterly hooked!!!!

I had to look up the pictures, but I do vaguely remember that show. I don't think it was one that I liked much so I don't think I watched it very often. But looking at the pictures I do remember it. Especially the cube "dad".

Back in my day Mrs. Garrett taught me all I needed to know about the Facts of Life. I longed for Natalie to have a makeover beauty queen moment, but she never got it, and I cried when Joe had to leave her boyfriend in Paris.

I think poor Wade wasn't as clueless are you're making him out to be. There's no way he couldn't know what Boy Meets World is! Corey and Topanga for life! I thought Shawn was such an idiot.

Also, did you see that there was (is?) Girl Meets World on the Disney channel and it follows Corey and Topanga's daughter. Same actors and everything! I haven't seen it, but I got excited when I heard about it.

My daughter started watching Girl Meets World. Yes, that's how old I am... I watched Boy Meets World as I was growing up and now my child watches Girl Meets World. UGH. Wanting to fully understand Corey, Topanga, and Shawn, she is also watching Boy Meets World reruns. I least I know she's watching quality.

I certainly feel my age now, thanks all! I was born in '72 & I remember my dads 8-track player and little b&w TV. I remember Our first microwave, the Atari 2600 (Pong, anyone?) and our first VCR & console TV. I remember when cable was new & when MTV wasn't even on 24 hrs a day! I remember playing Ms. Pacman in an arcade when I was just 10 or so.

WAY BACK in my day we had five channels and had to get up and turn a knob on the tv to change the channel. I was born in 69 and saw Star Wars at the theater and it was on actual film and not digital. I remember the projector having problems and the film actually melting three times. I didn't get to read the scrolling lines at the beginning of the movie.

I actually read the The Lord of the Rings trilogy in grade school long before a movie was being considered.

I was 21 when I first heard of email for heaven's sake!

Now I think I will watch Star Wars on my computer while I check my email on my third computer screen wrhile I read The Lord of the Rings on my IPad. see ya!

Back in my day I never thought I would live long enough to be able to say "back in my day" and I was sure all adults were just being super dramatic. Now, I can relate to pretty much everything everyone is saying. Also, I still have a VCR! It's not even hiding in a basement or an attic, it is actually connected to my TV and I use it at least as much as I use my DVD player (Are DVD players outdated now too?) I actually have way more VHS than I do DVDs. The crazy thing is, I don't think I'm very old! I'm not even 30 yet (until December).

Back in the day...my college roommates and I SHARED a Netflix subscription. Friendships were almost RUINED if someone held on to a DVD for too long, stopping up the flow of our Queue. I remember when the first added streaming as a free option and we didn't use it because there wasn't anything worth watching.

My parents got a 2nd phone line just so dial-up wouldn't interfere with phone calls. I still remember the password to connect to the internet. AM3727, if you're interested. I spent HOURS in MSN chat rooms. ASL, anyone?

We only got three local channels - you had to wake up at the butt crack of dawn on Saturday to see cartoons. My uncle, who lived in the big city and had cable, would MAIL US tapes that he'd recorded The Muppets on. I remember the wonder that filled me when I was told we were getting a dish and there would be an ENTIRE CHANNEL devoted to cartoons.